To ensure your chapter’s continued survival, you need to know your SPoFs. You also need a plan to avoid single points of failure and to decrease the stress brought on by the departure of an individual critical team member.

When messaging and context are appropriate, email can improve open rates while moving the reader to act. However, the wrong email can cause the reader to look elsewhere. Organizations need to be aware of the distinction.

A successful meeting requires preparation and planning – before, during and after – to fully engage attendees and deliver its intended message. Keep these 10 steps in mind when you plan your next meeting.

Right after new members join your chapter, you’ll find many asking themselves some of the same questions they asked before they joined. Organizations with engagement plans answer these questions early on and better engaging these members.

An Association Management System (AMS) allows you to update and streamline your chapter’s processes while decreasing the amount of manual work involved, the number of people required, and the time you spend.

These relaxed, open forums allow for easy interactions between your volunteers and your general member base while giving you the chance to talk easily about the different chapter volunteer opportunities and drum up more interest in your programs.

We’re continuing along our back to board basics series with a concentrated look at four key strategic areas to include in your summer review: board continuity, your membership structure, finances, and special programming.

Many changes happen successfully at the national level, through lobbying, conferences, and webinars. However, there are many changes and improvements that can happen easier and have a greater impact when they take place at the chapter level.

Summer. A time known for fun in the sun and vacations. While we definitely encourage having some fun over the summer, we also recommend making time to prepare to get back to the board basics to set your chapter up for fall success.

Selecting the right location can play a significant role in the outcome of your chapters’ meetings. National can guide its chapters in selecting locations that are both in line with the missions of the association and meet the needs of the chapter.

As a national association, the success of your chapters is the success of the association as a whole. How chapter leaders are trained and fulfill their duties is a direct reflection on the national. This comes together in the assurance of value to members

Are your chapters worth your time and money? Yes, yes they are. Many member needs can be addressed well at the national level, online and through conferences, but some can be addressed more effectively at the local level through chapters.

As a result of limited staff, small budgets and the reliance on volunteers, many chapters make minimal or no changes to what they offer in areas like membership, engagement and technology usage. This approach, while safe and easy, it is also limiting.

Many associations use the same management structure for all their chapters, around the country. Considering the fast pace of business and the differing norms and needs of individuals, a single management direction puts many at a disadvantage.

When an organization uses technology effectively, members react as expected. They attend events, they renew their memberships, and they bring new members with them. But, when it doesn’t work, they look elsewhere for their educational and networking needs.

We are advocates for getting feedback from your members frequently, but how much is too much feedback? We have outlined 5 steps to take to limit your chapter’s chances of survey fatigue and negatively impacting your membership.

In association marketing, accurate tracking, information gathering, and analysis are key to validating the efforts a chapter makes to gain new members. It’s crucial to recognize the lifetime value of one new member.